Vimy Ridge Diaries on Remembrance Day – Postcard # 61

On Remembrance Day in sunny, brisk Vancouver, Ian Bell (fresh from a CBC appearance “On The Coast“) joins Dave to read from Grandpa Mark’s diaries written in the trenches in WW1 as a young Canadian. From the library steps with a flask of scotch, they reflect on the costs and motivations of war, importance of friendship and the ethereal experience of going “over the top” and facing the terror on the other side, plus anecdotes about capturing Germans soldiers and discourse on the importance of personal documentation to pass forward to generations.

Wednesday November 11 – To commemorate Remembrance Day a Vancouver man has posted excerpts from his great-grandfather’s wartime journals on to his blog. Ian Bell told Stephen why it’s important to him to remember. Listen to the interview.(runs 7:04)

{Bonus} 50 years ago the Vietnam war began. When the war ended many Americans moved to BC. Woody Carmack was one of them and he attempted to help ex-soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress disorder and other problems. Listen to the interview.(runs 8:53)

Postcards from Gravelly Beach is a podcast

Postcards from Gravelly Beach is a spoken word literature podcast featuring me (Dave O) reading literary stalwarts - from Russians to the beats - along with smatterings from original works - fiction, freeverse and expository literature.

Each episode is carefully homegrown - recorded spontaneously at some splendid locale and backed by an eclectic assortment of music.